Years away
by egbkid
Summary: Ten years into the future, where are the Extreme Ghostbusters at? Are they still friends? Do they have families? Sorry it's been so long,i wnted to write it out by hand completly before i typed the new chap added Feb 13 07.
1. 00: Intro

June 06, 2006

Hello, my name is egbkid. I usually write Dark Angel fic, but I just found this one in the

deep archives of my computer. I wrote it about six years ago, or more, and is probably

one of my first fanfics. It is unfinished, so to speak, but I did have it all planned out, so I

know where I am going to take it. As well, I have it written, in my head, a lot further

along than it is so far. I remember writing more (because it took me forever to write the

French part where… never mind, you'll see), so for now, I will continue the story with

my notes, and hopefully stumble across the rest of what I wrote, somewhere while I am

weeding my laptop. I have another Extreme Ghostbusters fanfic that I found too, it is half

written, but it needs lots of work. I am going to tweak it and eventually post it here, as

well. And for anyone who has read my Dark Angel fanfic, I found a couple of them to

post.

So finally, I hope you enjoy this, over the next little while, like I said, I will continue it. I

don't own the Ghostbusters, Extreme or otherwise. If I don't stick strictly to character,

remember, it has been almost ten years since the show was cancelled, and I didn't get to

see a lot of it on second and third runs, so bear with me… I am trying to download

some episodes to watch again, but am thus far stuck on dialup and it is not easy. Please

don't sue me, like I have said before, I don't own it, I made up the new characters,

though, but I am but a poor Canadian. The only thing I own is my 99 Dae Woo, and it is a

lease, so you can't even get that if you sue me. **Please leave me lots of reviews, I thrive **

**off of them!** Enjoy the story, and on with the show…

egbkid


	2. 01: 2010

01: 2010

The four adults entered a large classroom in the college.

"This is where it all began."

"Si."

"It's been a long time."

"Only ten years, we aren't that old!"

Roland.

Eduardo.

Kylie.

Garrett.

Thirteen years ago, in the year 1997, they sat in this classroom, four naive teenagers. They each had their own reason entering the strange class that attracted so few. Their professor said they were twice the amount of students he had last semester. Their lives changed when a small green blob flew into the classroom.

"I miss this place."

"Si, I guess I do too."

"I miss Egon and the firehouse."

"I miss being a Ghostbuster. It's been ten years…"

It's been ten years since the second set of Ghostbusters broke up, went their separate ways. The years went by fast, the ex-Ghostbusters all have families, careers. But why did they break up? It all began ten years ago…


	3. 02: 2000

02: 2000

May 2000

"What happened to the TV?"

"Calm down, Eddie, it can be fixed!" Garrett approached the television and hit it, hard. Nothing happened."

"Guys, there's a reason the television isn't working." Janine, said, coming into the room. Egon came in behind her, while Kylie and Roland, stood in the doorway. "The reason is the cable company cut us off because we didn't pay the bill. We couldn't afford it."

"Yes," agreed Egon, "If you have noticed lately, we have been receiving a significantly reduced amount of cases. This is directly connected to the reduced amount of ectoplasmic activity, due to…"

"ENGLISH!"

"Uh, Garrett, he means there are no more ghosts." Kylie explained.

"What exactly does this mean?" Roland asked, even though he already knew the answer.

"We're out of a job."

"Well, once you graduate in June, you will be able to get another job, Garrett, a _real_ job."

"Yeah, and 'Ghostbuster' looks real good on a resume, too, Egon." Eduardo said, getting up from the couch and storming out of the room.

"A _real _job? This _is_ a real job! This is the only job I, _WE_ have ever known!" Garrett followed Eduardo, scooping up a basketball on his way out. Kylie and Roland walked away as well.

"They're right, Egon. It's been three years, they are adults now." Janine walked towards the kitchen, her voice falling to a whisper, "And it's over, again."

June 2000

"We're free!" Garrett yelled, coming out of his last exam.

"Not quite, we still have to pass all these exams, and go through the ceremonies, and you _know_ your mom won't make something small out of that!"

"Ah, Kylie, you're a spoilsport, let's go get a pizza, on me!"

"All right, it's to bad Roland and Eduardo are still in exams, they would love to see you offer to pay!" she teased, getting into her new black car.

"Ha! Funny! Like I would pay to see Eddie stuff his face, you're just lucky I'm in a good mood."

"Yeah, I'm lucky." Although they joked, both friends knew about what was coming next week, after graduation.

One Week Later

"Kylie Griffin."

When she heard her name, Kylie started across the stage. She was Valedictorian of her class, and was about to make her speech. 'Don't trip.' She thought, over and over. Her gown reached her feet, and she had already tripped on it once while she was out in the parking lot with her friends. She looked at the audience and started talking.

"Ladies, gentlemen, fellow graduates,

"I guess you could say we are now being thrown out into the real world, during our four or more years here, we have survived exams and studying, we have witnessed historical events, and we have all grown. Changed. Evolved.

"This is supposed to be one of the happiest times in our lives, we are ready to go out in the world and make it a better place. Teach. Cure. Help. Some of us are going on to further education. Some of us are tired of school, ready to get jobs, start our careers."

Kylie paused, looking out into the audience. She saw Garrett's parents sitting with his 13 year old sister and 6 year old brother. She saw Roland's parents and many siblings, two of which looked like they wanted to clobber each other. She saw Eduardo's brother, his wife and their son, who was starting high school soon. She saw their mentor, Egon, sitting beside Janine. But she didn't see anyone there for her. Her parents had not shown, even though the invitations had been sent out months ago.

"Are we ready to go out, to work, to start families? We have been in the education system a long time I believe a person can do anything, as long as they put their heart in to it. If we try our hardest, we can stop the violence, make our world a better place, and we will survive in this world. You can do it if you really try. We are not being thrown out into the world; we are going out to make it a better place for everyone.

"Thank you and good luck to this class, and _every _class of 2000!"

As applause filled the auditorium, Kylie walked off stage and took her seat. She turned and saw Roland smiling from behind her. Garrett gave her a thumbs up sign from the end of two rows back, and Eduardo was grinning from ear to ear about four rows behind her. She turned again as they started to hand out awards. As Garrett had said a week earlier, they were, in a way, free.

The Next Day

"Well, this is it."

"Si."

"Hmmm."

"Yup."

"Well, see you later." They were all in the garage with the Ecto-1 when Roland turned and walked out the door.

"Sure will miss this car." Garrett said, putting a hand on the fender. "Will miss seeing Roland stuck under the hood. Miss the excitement of the catch. Heck, I'll even miss getting hauled out of bed at 2 AM." Garrett picked up his backpack with the contents of his locker in it and quickly left. Kylie thought she saw a tear when he passed her.

"He's right, I will miss this place too, although I'll be back to help Egon update the spirit guide. I can't believe it's been three years."

"Yeah, me too. Well ,I gotta go; Kevin needs a lift to a babysitting job or something."

"See ya."

"Yup." Eduardo leaned down and planted a kiss on Kylie's cheek, then rushed out the door, almost running.

"What was that for?"


	4. 03: 2000

03: 2000

Late August

His mom wanted him to get a summer job, and he got one at a day camp. She wanted him to look at medical schools, and he did look. She wanted him to apply for medical school. As far as she knew, he did. He didn't want to become a doctor. And now, he was tired of it. He was twenty years old; and he was ready from under her thumb. The opportunity arose while she had his younger siblings out school shopping, so he took it.

Garrett went around his bedroom, quickly tossing things on his bed. Some clothes, his favorite CDs and even a couple of books. He stuffed it all in his backpack, then went to the kitchen and added a couple bottles of water and a few sandwiches. Back in his room, he tossed the backpack, his jacket and Discman on the bed, then he went to his bookshelf and pulled down the tape that said it held his sixth grade school play. The sleeve didn't have a tape in it, though. Instead, it held a roll of twenty dollar bills that he had been putting away for a long time. He pulled it out and put half in an envelope in his backpack. Half of what was left, he put into his wallet. The rest, he pocketed. That was for his bus ticket. The last thing Garrett did was write two letters, one to his parents, the other to his siblings. The first, he left on the kitchen table, the second, on his sister's nightstand. Back in his own bedroom, Garrett looked around. He was going to miss this place, but it was now or never. He grabbed his stuff and took off, locking the door behind him,. He had decided to visit his friends one last time, but he would have to make it quick, because the bus he planned on taking left in an hour and a half.

Eduardo wasn't home, so he went to the firehouse, where he figured he could find Kylie. He didn't really want to run into Egon or Janine, because he knew they would try to change his mind. Unfortunately, the only person there was Janine. He told her he was taking off for a wile, but he didn't elaborate on his plans, the he asked her to say goodbye to the others for him, and went on to Roland's.

Garrett found Roland in his driveway, with all his siblings; two were in the car, the rest playing around it. It was obvious Roland was busy, so he turned to leave.

"What are you doing here; this is a long way from your house." He heard Roland say. Garrett turned back into the driveway and saw his friend walking towards him.

"Well. I just wanted to tell you I was going away, and it will be awhile before I see you again."

"I'm going away for a couple of weeks, too. I'm taking Casey and Jacob to visit some family in Missouri before school starts. Where are you headed off to?"

"Canada. I decided since I got my diploma, I can take off for awhile."

"Canada! How long are you going for? Who are you going to see?"

"Dunno how long I'll be gone. Don't even know where I'm headed. My parents know I've taken off, but they don't know where. They think I'm already gone."

"Your mom is going to freak!"

"Well, I gotta go, the bus leaves soon. Have fun in Missouri. See ya!" With that, Garrett turned and took off down the street. A second later, he heard Roland calling his name, but he pretended he didn't hear and went faster.


	5. 04: 2000

03. 2000

November

It had been four months since he had graduated pre-med, and Eduardo still didn't know what he wanted to do. He was working delivering pizzas, of all things, but he loved it. Except for the fact that Carlos was always on his back for not having a real job. Whatever.

Right now, Eduardo was walking down the corridor of the hospital, looking for the room his nephew, Kevin, was in. Perfect timing for him to go and break his knee, Thanksgiving weekend. The hospital was practically empty, most of the patients sent home for the holiday. Most of the doctors and nurses were off, too. Unfortunately, Kevin's knee had almost instantly swelled, making it impossible to take X-Rays until it went down, thus leaving him in the hospital for the weekend. Eduardo had gone home to get some of his stuff, while his brother and sister-in-law had stayed at the hospital with their son. He had also picked up a handful of flowers to liven up the room that Kevin was in. But when he got back to the hospital, Eduardo got completely lost. He knew he was in the children's wing, but as to where Kevin's room was, Eduardo couldn't even guess. A Nurse came out of two doors away from where Eduardo was standing.

"Now, you eat your dinner, Kevin. The doctor won't be happy if you don't." She closed the door and started to push a trolley down the hall to the next room.

"Kevin," he thought, "That must be it." He walked over to the door, knocked lightly and went in. As soon as he entered, Eduardo realized he was in the wrong room. A woman was talking on a cell phone urgently, clearly ignoring all the posters telling visitors to turn them off; she brushed past him and out the door without so much as a goodbye to the small boy in the bed. He was propped up with some pillows, and in front of him on a small tray was a covered plate that Eduardo assumed was the aforementioned dinner. The boy stared at Eduardo with a slightly excited look in his eyes.

"Uh, sorry, wrong room." He put his hand on the doorknob to leave.

"Typical." The boy sighed, the look in his eyes disappearing. He pushed his dinner plate away and settled further down into his pillows.

"Hey, what's wrong, kid?" Eduardo asked, approaching the bed.

"I'm not a kid! I'm twelve and my name's Kevin!"

"Sorry, if you don't want me here, I'll leave!" he turned to go.

"Please, don't go!" Eduardo turned to see Kevin struggling to pull himself up in bed. Normally, Eduardo would have left, not giving the kid a second thought, but for some reason, he felt compelled to stay and talk.

"Why not?"

"It's just that, no one ever comes to see me."

"What about that lady that just breezed outta here?"

"Her? She's just my social worker. She doesn't care about me, no one does."

"She must, if she came to see you."

"She comes in once in a while, just cuz she has to, you know, social worker stuff. She says she will get me into another foster home, or even adopted, but she never does. No one wants a sick kid." He flopped back down onto the pillows.

"That's no way of looking at it, kid."

"Whatever. I'm just a government kid. They make sure I get everything I need, nothing that I want, and I'm stuck here forever."

"Eh, maybe they'll spring you soon."

"Nope, been here for most of the last six months…all the nurses want me to do is eat, but the food is gross." Kevin yawned.

"I agree, but if you eat this stuff, maybe you'll get a bit better and they will get you a burger." Eduardo lifted the cover of the plate, and just held back a face. "On second thought, maybe you can suck up to one of the nurses and they can hook you up with something fattening." He looked up at Kevin, who had fallen asleep. Eduardo noticed there was an empty vase on the nightstand; it looked like it hadn't been used in years. He took it to the bathroom and filled it with water, then put the flowers he had bought for his nephew in it, he would never miss them, and this Kevin seemed to need them more. He set the flowers beside the untouched dinner and left the room. Down the hall was a nurses station, he saw the nurse that had delivered Kevin's supper sitting there reading a magazine. Eduardo approached her.

"Can I help you?"

"Yeah, my nephew is in here, his name is Kevin Rivera. I was looking for his room when I accidentally met the kid down the hall. You know who I mean?"

"Yes, what about him?"

"He just seems like a good kid that needs a chance. Can you direct me to my nephew's room?" She looked it up on the computer and pointed the way. Before he left, Eduardo tossed a five dollar bill on the nurse's desk. "Here, buy the kid a burger, he deserves it, and it's a helluva lot better than that crap in there." The nurse smiled and nodded.

As he walked down the hall towards his nephew's room, Eduardo finally figured what he wanted to do with his life. When the forms came out in the spring, he was going to apply for medical school.


	6. 05: 2001

04.2001

March

"If I'm late, he's gonna kill me. I'm going to be late." Kylie rushed down the street, trying not to run and call attention to herself. She was late for a meeting with Egon, and he hated when people were late, unless they had a really good reason. And Kylie didn't, well in his point of view, anyway. She had been on a date with one of the most wonderful men she had ever met. Xandy. Just thinking his name made Kylie shiver. She had only met him two weeks before, but she had quickly fallen in love. He was an actor, climbing his way up. He had already won a couple of small awards for his acting, and in a few weeks he had an invite to a prestigious award ceremony. He wasn't nominated for an award, but just to be invited was an honor in itself. And he had invited Kylie to go with him. She couldn't wait, but she didn't know what to wear. Kylie knew she would be on camera, and could quite possibly be a center of attention, so she knew what she wore would be important. She decided to ask Janine for help.

As Kylie rushed into the firehouse, she realized that maybe this Xandy guy might be good for her. After all, he had already changed her enough so that she, Kylie Griffin, was thinking about what to wear.


	7. 06: 2001

05.2001

August

"Ok, that looks like the last box. Casey, are you sure my books are on the truck?"

"Yup, I just put them in."

"Good." Roland was excited, and it wasn't just because he was starting his first full time teaching job and was moving to Queens. He was also excited about moving into the apartment that he and his fiancée, Norah, were going to start their lives together in. Norah was going to pack up her apartment and move just before their December wedding. Her teaching job didn't start until the January semester.

Roland had met Norah six months before when he had substituted at a school where she taught. On St. Valentine's Day, Cupid had struck them each with an arrow and it was love at first sight. He had proposed to her exactly six months later. Because all his family was close by, and she was an orphan and had no family, they decided to get married right away, and picked a day just before Christmas. Already, a week after the proposal, wedding plans seemed to be in full swing. It was if his mom had been possessed by the ghost of a wedding planner. If Roland hadn't known better, he would have checked her out with a PKE meter. It seemed the only thing she wanted her son to do was to make sure his friends were on the invitation list. The only thing was, that was the problem.

Roland closed up the last box and looked around the bedroom he had grown up in. The only thing he was leaving behind was his old bed and a dresser; his younger brother would soon claim the room as his own. Just to be sure he got everything; Roland opened the drawers of the dresser one last time. In the bottom drawer, was what he least expected. There was a photograph of all the Ghostbusters. It had been taken at a time when the senior Ghostbusters had come to visit their old friend Egon and stayed to help the junior team bust a particularly nasty ghost. Roland missed his friends a lot. He hadn't seen Garrett since that day in his driveway a year ago. As far as Roland knew, he was still in Canada. Eduardo he had seen two months ago. He had been excited because he had been accepted to medical school. Kylie, apparently, had fallen madly in love with some movie star and had moved to Hollywood in the spring. Janine, to whom Kylie wrote, said she had changed. Her letters rang with a note of sadness, as if she missed New York. The problem with inviting all his friends to his wedding was that Roland didn't know how to contact all of his friends. He didn't think he would ever have any more close friends like the other Ghostbusters; in fact, Norah was the first friend Roland had made since they had parted.

Roland opened the last box and set the picture inside on top, beside one of himself and Norah. The last box would be the first to be opened in his new home. It contained all his memories. He picked up the box and took a step towards the door of the room. As his younger brothers came in, discussing decorating ideas, he took one last look at his childhood home, and walked out.


	8. 07: 2002

07.2002

May

Garrett sat in the waiting room of the hospital. He had been kicked out of the delivery room forty minutes before, and was pretending to read a magazine as he anxiously waited for information about his wife. The baby wasn't supposed to come for another month and a half, and they had not been ready. Noelle had called Garrett at work and told him she was in pain, so he rushed home and quickly got her to the hospital, where they learned she was in premature labor. He turned a page in the magazine and saw a bride in an ad. A tear sprung into his eye as he remembered the day he and Noelle had been married, almost two years ago.

Garrett had met Noelle on his first day in Canada. He had ended up in one of the larger cities, Montreal, and had promptly gotten himself into trouble after getting off the bus. He had made his way to a hotel, but the clerk could not speak English very well. And Garrett could not speak French. Out of nowhere came Noelle, offering to be a translator. After he got checked in, Garrett and Noelle decided to go for coffee. She told him how she was visiting her aunt; she actually lived in a small town a little north of Montreal. They ended up talking long into the night. Two weeks later, they were married. They ended up eloping, because her mother disapproved of their whirlwind romance. She was sure they wouldn't stay together, and now that Noelle was pregnant, she was even surer that the American boy would break her daughter's heart.

Garrett snapped out of his memory as he heard steps approaching. Finally, it was the doctor. He threw the magazine on the table beside him.

"Est-ce que, monsieur, je m'excuse peux satisfaire parle avec vous dans mon bureau pendant un moment?" He tried to remember his French lessons, the doctor wanted to see him in the office. Garrett followed the man down a corridor to a small room with a large desk. The doctor cleared some papers, and then perched on the corner of the desk, facing Garrett.

"Le bébé, c'est une fille." He said. Garrett got excited.

"A girl, all right! Oui, c'est une fille !" The doctor hesitated, and then spoke again before Garrett could go on.

"Mais, je suis désolé, votre épouse..."

"What about my wife? Que diriez-vous de mon épouse ?"

"Elle ne l'a pas fait. Je suis désolé."

"No! You're wrong! Vous avez tort ! Noelle !" This was not the news he had expected to hear. The office suddenly got very claustrophobic, so he turned and fled, the doctor still talking.

"Je suis monsieur très désolé, nous ai essayé tout." He kept going, he didn't care. The doctor was wrong. Noelle was going to be ok. They would raise their daughter together. They would live happily ever after. Garrett didn't even know where he was going until he found himself in the parking lot, heading towards their van. He unlocked it and got in. He didn't know what to do. So he cried.

It was half an hour later when Garrett calmed down. He started thinking. He had a daughter now. A daughter that needed his love and support. He got out of then van and went back into the hospital. After cleaning up in a bathroom, Garrett went to find the doctor. He was still in the office.

"Doctor? I'm sorry for the way I acted." He started, then remembered he had to speak French. "Le bébé, est-elle bien ?"

"Oui, le bébé est très bien elle est parfait."

"Merci soigner." He thanked the doctor, then left. He had a lot of phone calls to make.

Four days later.

Garrett was lucky, in one way. Even though his baby was a month and a half premature, she was completely healthy. She would be able to go home with her father in four more days, just as soon as the nurses got her stabilized on a routine and a formula.

Today, Garrett had to attend his beloved's funeral. He did not want to face his mother-in-law. When he spoke to her on the phone four days ago, she broke down. She spoke fast French. Even though he had spent almost two years immersed in the culture, Garrett had a hard time following her. He got the gist, though. She blamed him. She never wanted to see Garrett again, and he was to leave the country and her grandchild behind and never look back. She would raise the child.

Garrett almost gave in. Then he once again realized his new responsibility and, for the first time ever, told his mother-in-law no. She balked at the idea, and told him to stay where he was, she would take care of everything. Garrett then went to the doctor and got his baby daughter transferred to the children's hospital, because he knew Noelle's mother would try to get Garrett out of the picture. When she got to the hospital, she was absolutely livid that the doctors backed Garrett up. She planned her daughter's funeral without consulting her son-in-law. All Garrett had to do was show up, although she did not want that. Garrett tried to convince himself that the woman's resentfulness towards him came from her mourning for her only child. But he knew that Noelle's mother had never really like him in the first place.

At the end of the service, Garrett sat by his wife's grave as their friends and family left. Noelle's mother stopped and leaned down to whisper in his ear, as if to give her condolences.

"Si je vous revois jamais, vous le regretterez."

He then knew he would have to go home, because if he stayed in Canada, this woman would make life a living hell for Garrett and his daughter.


	9. 08: 2002

08. 2002

November

"It's a girl!" the doctor announced, smiling and holding the baby up for everyone to see.

"Did you hear that, honey? It's a girl!" Roland gave his wife's hand a gentile squeeze. Norah nodded weakly and smiled, returning the squeeze, it was nothing compared to what she had subjected her husband's hand to a few minutes earlier. The nurse set the swaddled baby in Roland's arms, and he held it up for Norah to see. Less than a minute later, she closed her eyes, smiling. The nurse came back for the baby as another led him out.

"What's wrong?"

"Don't worry, she'll be alright, she's just tired. We're just going to get her cleaned up and settled into a room, and then we'll come get you." For a minute, Roland just stood there and stared at the door that had been closed in his face. He was amazed. He had held almost all of his younger siblings at one time or another, but this was different. This was his own child. His own baby girl! He partially snapped out of his reverie and walked down the hall to the waiting room, then took a seat. It took him another minute to realize Egon, Janine and his parents were all looking at him expectantly.

"It's a girl!"

The next day

"So, what is the newcomer's name?" Janine asked. She had just come in for a minute to drop off gifts from all the Ghostbusters.

"Rylea Elizabeth." Roland answered. He sat beside Norah's bed, staring at the baby that she held. He was still in awe that he had helped bring this little baby into the world.

"She is so adorable!" Janine said; she moved to the other side of the bed to get a closer look. "It's been a long time since I have seen a little one this young!" she looked at her watch, "Not even twenty-four hours old! Sydney was almost two months old before Garrett announced her presence."

"It's such a shame that we didn't get to meet his wife. I would have loved to have asked her a few questions, by now she would have had six months of experience over me." Norah added, smiling sadly at her baby. She couldn't imagine how Roland would have reacted if she had died in childbirth. His friend had taken the blow rather harshly, she hadn't even met him until he had been back in the country for over almost a month and a half; apparently it had taken that long for his mother to convince him to stop moping around the house and that both he and his baby needed some fresh air.

Rylea broke the silent moment that had fallen over the room by picking that moment to be hungry, so Norah rang the nurse's call to receive some help. Janine took that as a sign to excuse herself. As she waited for one elevator to go down to the street, Roland's parents got off another. His father carried a huge teddy bear and a vase full of flowers, while his mother, it seemed, had told everyone on the elevator that would listen about her first grandchild. Janine thought about the last few years as she rode the elevator down. When she stepped out onto the street, she knew what she had to do.


	10. 09: 2003

09. 2003

February

Eduardo pulled open the door of the children's home and walked inside to the desk, where a young girl sat talking on the phone. She excused herself from her conversation and looked up at him expectantly.

"Hello, my name is Eduardo Rivera; I am here to meet Mrs. Flowers."

"Sure. Just a minute, she's upstairs with a newcomer, she'll be down in a minute." She immediately went back to the phone.

"Thanks." There was no place to sit in the so-called waiting area, so Eduardo stood and studied his surroundings. The foyer he stood in was just big enough to house the desk and the bottom of a flight of stairs. Through a doorway to the left appeared to be a kitchen. There was another door on the right side of the room, but was closed. On the walls were framed pictures that were obviously drawn by the children that lived in the building. Eduardo was studying them when he heard someone coming down the stairs; he turned to meet the woman in charge.

"Mrs. Flowers? I am Eduardo Rivera; we talked on the phone yesterday morning?"

"Yes, you are our new volunteer; please, call me Rose."

"Ok, Rose."

"You come highly recommended, we are so glad to have you here. Now, let's get on with a tour of the building, shall we? This is my daughter Maria; she works the desk Monday to Friday." Maria looked up from her computer monitor long enough to smile at Eduardo, then went back to work. "Now, in through that door is the staff bedroom, for whoever is staying the night with the children, and this way is the kitchen."

Rose led Eduardo through the open doorway into an immaculate commercial kitchen; it had two stoves, ovens and dishwashers, and two huge refrigerators. Off to the side, Rose pointed out the massive pantry, and then led him into the dining room. There was three massive tables, Eduardo counted fourteen chairs around each, and off to the side were a dozen high chairs. He had known this place was big, but he didn't think it housed that many children. As they went back through the kitchen towards the foyer, Rose pointed out a small table with four chairs around it.

"That table," she explained, "Is for when a child may get over-stimulated and is unable to join the rest of the group; we don't normally have too many discipline problems, though." As well, in the corner of the kitchen was a small elevator, which Rose explained was locked so the children would not play in it.

Back in the foyer, Rose led Eduardo up the stairs. "There are four floors above the first," she explained as they climbed over a gate at the top of the stairs, "The second floor is for the infants and toddlers, they are here until age three. This is the only floor in which the boys and girls are allowed to sleep in the same room." She led Eduardo into a long room that appeared to be the length of the building. There were six windows, and two cribs under each window, except for the last, it had two beds with rails. Across from the cribs were three changing tables. A woman was standing at one, just finishing up with a baby.

"This is my other daughter, Sara. She is here almost as much as I am, Sara, this is Eduardo." She smiled at him as she put the baby back into its crib, and before Eduardo could say anything, Rose had swept him off into another room. This one was a playroom that was almost as big as the bedroom. There was a man there reading to three small children, Rose introduced him as Robert. He waved and went back to his story. "I will introduce you to the children later." Rose said, and led him back into the hall. Also on this floor, were a full bathroom and a nurse's room. Rose introduced him to the nurse, Candie, and then showed him where the elevator came up and all the emergency things were. Then she led him up stairs again.

"The next floor is for children aged three until six. From her up, it is boys on the right, girls on the left." She led him into a room that was similar to the one downstairs; it had four windows and eight beds. To one side was a door that led to a bathroom, both rooms were decorated in blues and greens. Rose led him to the other room, it was exactly the same, but decorated in pinks and reds. Like the floor below it, this floor had a playroom, and there was a staff member there with a few children. This person was introduced as Mateo. As she led Eduardo to the stairs, he noticed that every hallway and stairwell were also covered in framed pictures that the children had drawn.

"The next floor has aged six until twelve. We can house up to 54 children here, but at the moment we only have twenty-four: six on the first floor, four on the second, eight on the third and six more on the forth." The rooms on this floor were exactly that same as those on the previous one, except for the play room was slightly smaller, making way for a homework area. The worker here was named Jacob.

"Finally, our top floor is for our teenagers, ages twelve to eighteen. We don't usually get a lot of children here older than thirteen; most other places don't push to have the children adopted by that age as much as we do." This floor was similar in color scheme and layout, only there were five beds in each room. Each bed had its own desk, and instead of a playroom, there was a library with six computers. Rose explained that these computers and the library were for the entire house to use, but this seemed like the safest place for them. There was a child at three of the computer stations, and an adult named Tanya watching them.

Rose then led Eduardo all the way back downstairs and showed him the staff bedroom, the office that was off of it; and the garage that was off the side of the building. Then she led him back into the office to talk about the children.

Two hours, and twenty three files later, Rose's daughter Marie came in.

"Sara is having problems with the new child, she was wondering if she could get some help?"

"Perfect timing! We were just about to go over his file, why don't we go meet him, Eduardo?" Rose said, standing up from the desk. She took the file and led Eduardo towards the foyer and the stairs.

"Six month old Mikel was brought here this morning, just before you arrived. We already have a foster home lined up for him, but he has to stay here a few days, first. He was found two weeks ago in a school playground by some children, and was put into the hospital for observation. A note was with him with his name and birth date; that was it. There was a through search of the neighborhoods around the playground, but, of course, nobody remembers seeing a thing. He seems to be perfectly healthy in every way."

"So what is wrong?" Eduardo asked, climbing over the stair gate once again.

"Robert and Mateo took the older kids out for a walk, and all the babies won't stop crying!" Sara said as a greeting. She handed her mother one baby, picked up another and handed it to Eduardo, and then picked up the third. Eduardo was surprised, he hadn't held a baby since his nephew Kevin was one; he wasn't sure what to do with it! He watched Rose and Sara bounce lightly and make shushing noises, so tried the same. This made him feel really silly, so he started singing. Eduardo listened to himself singing a soft Spanish lullaby, thinking to himself, 'where did I learn this song?' When he was through, all three babies had stopped crying, and the one he held was sleeping. Rose and Sara were staring at him.

"Why, Eduardo, you didn't say you could sing!" Rose said, setting the baby down in its crib.

"I didn't know I could, either. I don't even know what that song was."

"It was an old Spanish lullaby; I caught Mateo singing it once, and he told me that's what it was. Maybe it was something your mother sang to you?" Sara said; she set the baby in her arms down, too. "It seems to have worked, Mikel is sound asleep." Eduardo looked down at the baby in his arms. He was so peaceful looking. Eduardo started to feel a soft spot growing for this baby, but he knew Mikel would be gone in a few days, so he quickly set him in a crib and turned away.

"You are obviously good with babies, Eduardo; I think I will assign you to work here with Sara for a little while," Rose said, "but I have some paperwork to do, and there is another baby coming in this afternoon, so I must go and let her teach you the ropes. Good Luck!" With that, Rose headed out the door to go downstairs again. At the same time, one of the babies started stirring again.

"Have you ever changed a diaper, Eduardo?" Sara asked, picking up the baby and giving her new partner a big smile.


	11. 10: 2003

10. 2003

September

Kylie rolled over on her bed and put her hands on her stomach, and once again, cursed Xandy. The name still gave her shivers, but unlike before, they were not the good kind.

Kylie had just recently moved back to Manhattan from Hollywood, where she had spent twenty-four glorious months being chauffeured and pampered as the girlfriend of one of the best up and coming actors of the times. Then she found out she was pregnant. She almost wished he had dumped her on the spot, but instead, Xandy chose to slowly ignore her. He told her not to tell anyone, and he continued to take her out now and then until she started showing. Then, the jerk cut off all contact. He never answered his phone, his secretary and agent always said he was busy, and finally, he changed his phone number altogether when Kylie wouldn't stop calling. She finally admitted to needing help and gave in, moving back east. Janine and Egon had graciously let Kylie move in with them until the baby was born, sometime in the next few weeks. Kylie didn't want to move in with the newlyweds, she had an apartment lined up to take, but Janine didn't want Kylie to be alone this close to the due date.

Kylie wasn't sure what she was going to do for an income, she had never had a real job, per se, but she did plan on going to school and studying something while she was on so called maternity leave. Upon her arrival back in Manhattan, all of Kylie's former Ghostbuster friends greeted her enthusiastically. They knew she was unable to afford to obtain everything she would need for the baby, so they all pitched in and helped. Garrett gave her Sidney's crib and starter car seat, not that she had a car anymore, but it helped. Garrett also gave her some of Sydney's clothes that were still in good shape. The 16 month old was already well on her way to becoming a tom-boy, her father argued that boy's clothes were cheaper, so it didn't matter that Kylie was having a boy. After the other three calmed him down from wanting to hunt down Xandy and kill him, Eduardo went out and bought baby Andrew a changing table and a pile of bottles, receiving blankets, soothers and any other small things his mom would need to take care of him. Both he and Roland had offered to accompany Kylie to Lamaze classes. She had to turn them both down because classes were in the afternoon, Roland worked and Eduardo was still in school. Norah did, however, talk the new mother into letting her husband be the coach during labor. He did, after all, just go through it less than a year ago. And in case she went into labor when Roland was at work, Janine and Kylie bugged Egon until he agreed to be a back-up. He ended up going to Lamaze classes with Kylie, and, she thought, they looked like a funny pair.

Kylie rolled over to her other side, trying to get comfortable. All day, it seemed, she had been having small cramps. She was just thinking about what her Lamaze teacher had said about premature labor when the phone rang. She heard Janine get up from the living room and answer it, although both of them already knew it was one of the guys calling to check in on Kylie.

"Kylie, it's Garrett, do you want to talk?" Janine yelled from the next room.

"Not tonight. Tell them all I'm doing OK, I'm fine, the baby's fine and I'll talk to them tomorrow."

"Alright." About ten seconds after she had hung up, the phone rang again. This time, Janine came into the room after she turned him away.

"That one was Eduardo. Are you OK, honey? You look a little pale, and you've been awful quiet today."

"Yeah, I'm alright, just a few cramps, it seems." she rolled and sat up, "I'll be glad when this is over, I suppose, I miss looking at my feet. Ouch!" Kylie grabbed her swollen stomach, a tear coming to her eye.

"Are you alright?" Janine crossed the room in a single bound; she bent down and looked at Kylie. "Is the baby kicking?"

"No, I don't think so. This is more like a pain and pressure at the same time. I'll be OK in a second." Just then, the phone rang again. "That one is probably Roland, go answer it, I'll be alright." She tried to sit up straighter to prove the point. "I'll come out and talk to him, just give me a minute."

"Alright, if you're sure." Janine gave her a wary look, and then went to answer the phone. Kylie could hear her talking to Roland, but she couldn't hear what she was saying, so she tried to stand up and go get it before Janine expressed her concerns. Suddenly, her body was racked in pain, and she noticed that her water had broken! As she slid to the floor, she could only scream in pain.

"Janine!"


	12. 11: 2004

11.2004

July

"Come on Rylea; don't be scared, they won't bite."

"Look, Rylea! Frow it like this!" Norah laughed, watching two year old Sydney showing Rylea how to throw bread at the ducks. Her daughter was a little shy at first, but soon mimicked her friend. Roland kneeled by the pond with a bag of bread pieces they had brought.

"So how are you feeling today, Norah, ready to pop yet?" She turned to see Garrett coming up behind her. She rubbed her swollen stomach where she carried her second child.

"I am doing great. It should be any day now, and I feel better now than I did when I carried Rylea. How were your classes today?"

"Great! I'm glad I opted for the summer courses. Before we know it, I'll be graduated and working again! But I couldn't have done it without you taking care of Sydney for me."

"And, again, we love having Sydney. She and Rylea get along so well together." They both looked at the children. Rylea was standing on the very edge of the pond; one of her father's fingers was through the belt loop of her pants so she wouldn't fall. Sydney hadn't even noticed that her father had arrived; she was squatting down, splashing her hands in the water, calling for the ducks.

"Hey, Roland, don't get wet!" Garrett called, causing Sydney to look up.

"Daddy!" she yelled, she ran towards Garrett, slipping in the mud and landing on her hands and knees. It didn't stop her for long; she just got up and continued running, until she climbed up onto Garrett.

"You're getting me all muddy!"

"So? Mud is fun!" she made a muddy handprint on the front of his shirt, and another on his cheek.

"Grandma's gonna be mad at us for getting all muddy. She'll make me do the laundry!"

"So? I help Gramma always, its fun to."

"Well, then, if it is that much fun, you can do it!"

"She can do ours, too." Roland pitched in. He had just walked up from the edge of the pond, Rylea in his arms.

"I can't do laundy, daddy."

"Why not, baby?"

"I can't reach the button, silly!" Sydney burst out laughing. The adults couldn't help laughing along with her.

"Oh, silly me!"

Two days later

Garrett sat, once again, in the hospital waiting room. This time, he was not alone. Both Sydney and Rylea slept on chairs beside him, wrapped up in blankets. Roland's parents had gone away and so Garrett was returning the babysitting favor by watching the new big sister.

He flipped through a magazine, and once again came across the bridal ad. The only difference was this time it was in English. Tears sprung to his eyes as he remembered a day just over two years ago when he last sat in a waiting room, and the bad news that followed.

"Oh, Noelle, I miss you so much." He whispered, closing the magazine and throwing it on the table. He leaned forward, letting his head hang in his hands, the tears running down his cheeks. "I wish you could see her. You would love her as much as I do."

The next thing Garrett knew, Roland was poking him in the shoulder.

"Hey, Garrett. Wake up." He whispered. Garrett sat up quickly, wiping his face. If Roland had noticed the tears, he didn't say anything. He looked at the clock and noticed that he had been asleep for three hours. "They have Norah in a room now. She said I can take Rylea in to see her. They won't let anyone else in until tomorrow. Can you take her home after we go see Norah?"

"Sure, dude, no problem. So?"

"It's a girl. 8 pounds, 4 ounces. Maegan Candace."

"Congrats! Take the big sister in, I'll be here waiting." Roland picked up his daughter, waking her up and walked down the hall. When he left, Garrett put a hand on his sleeping daughter's head. He wondered if they would have had any more children. He wiped another tear from his eye as Sydney started waking up. He wished she had had the chance to meet her mother. He remembered the threat his mother in law had left him with at the funeral. Garrett realized then that he didn't care, he would somehow take his daughter home to Canada to meet her heritage, someday.


	13. 12: 2004

12.2004

December

The sound of sirens always made Eduardo think of his Ghostbusting days, not that long ago. The quiet peace of his dark apartment was broken by the sound, echoing through the night.

Eduardo stood up from his desk and looked at his watch. Midnight. He realized he had actually been studying for three hours, a new record for him; time for a pizza break. He remembered the place that he and his fellow Ghostbusters once went to almost nightly. It was only two blocks from the firehouse, and since he lived only two blocks in the opposite direction, Eduardo decided to walk. Just in case, he took a heavy flashlight with him. As Eduardo shrugged into his jacket and locked his apartment door, the sirens stopped. Wherever the fire was, it was close. He walked up the block and could smell the acrid smoke, even see the reflection of the fire trucks lights on the buildings around him, it was really close. The sirens started again.

One block away from his apartment, an ambulance sped past Eduardo, the sirens stopped on the next block. He thought of going back, the police probably wouldn't let him by anyway, but Eduardo's curiosity got the better of him.

As he rounded the corner to the next block, Eduardo dropped his flashlight and fished around in his pockets for his cell phone, then started dialing. The flames coming from the old firehouse in the center of the block lit up his face as the phone started ringing through.

"Mmmm…who could that be…hello? Roland, honey, it's for you." Roland rolled over and shook the sleep out of his head as Norah threw the phone on the bed and got up to check on the children.

"Hello?" He suddenly woke up completely when he heard the voice on the line "Eduardo, what are you doing calling this time of night, don't you have finals…Whoa, calm down, what's wrong? There's a fire where? Ok, I'll call Egon and Janine and let them know, you find out how much damage there's going to be. What's your number, I'll call you back when I gat through to them." Roland hung up the phone and went searching through his nightstand for his address book as Norah came back to bed.

"What's wrong, honey?"

"Eduardo was out walking and saw the old firehouse is on fire, but he doesn't know Egon and Janine's new number, so he called me. Do you know where my address book is?"

"It's by the phone in the den; you put it there this afternoon when Kylie called with her new address in Seattle."

"Thanks, you go back to sleep, everything will be ok. I'll call Egon and let him know so he can get over there and assess the damage, then I'll be back. Eduardo or Egon can update us in the morning."

"Ok, but don't be to long." As Roland went down the hall, he peeked into his daughter's bedrooms. As much as he knew that it was urgent that he make his phone call, he also knew that New York's finest were at the scene and there probably wouldn't be too much damage. Roland finally made it to the den and found his address book, right where his wife had said it would be. He found the number easily and dialed. It rand ten times before he hung up, dialed again and let it ring another ten times. He figured they must have already known about it and be there, so he called Eduardo and told him so.

As he made his way back to bed, Roland thought how ironic that a former firehouse be consumed by fire.

"Yup, don't worry; I'll go see if they are around. You go back to bed. I'm sorry I woke you." Eduardo hung up from his second conversation of the night with Roland. He tucked his cell phone back into his pocket, picked up his flashlight and then walked up the sidewalk, closer to the fire. He had presumed right when a police officer saw him coming and approached him.

"Sorry, sir, you can't come by here, you'll have to use the next block."

"I know the owners, Egon and Janine Spengler. I was a Ghostbuster, my name is Eduardo Rivera."

"You were one of the Ghostbusters? Do you have any ID?" Eduardo dug out his wallet and searched through it until he found one of the business cards that Garrett had once had printed up for each of them. It had the Ghostbuster logo and number, as well as his name. He also showed the officer his driver's license. The officer studied each of the cards closely, then handed them back.

"Alright, you had best come with me." The officer led Eduardo through the crowds of fire fighters, paramedics and fellow officers to one of the ambulances that sat with its back doors open. Janine sat just inside, wrapped in a blanket. "Madam, do you know this gentleman?" the officer asked, lightly touching her arm.

"Oh, Eduardo!" Janine yelled, practically knocking him over "Egon and Slimer are still inside!"

"What! How?" Eduardo looked towards the burning building.

"Egon went in to check on the containment unit, and Slimer followed him! He thought he would be alright in the basement, but he's been in there an awful long time, and the firemen said they can't go in to find him because it is too dangerous!"

"Everybody back off!" one of the firefighters yelled. The police officer that had escorted Eduardo gave them a shove towards the ambulance.

"Get inside!" He snapped. Eduardo turned to protest just as the street started to vibrate, he had just enough time to shove Janine into the ambulance as before the burning firehouse collapsed into itself.

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The funeral for Egon was a week later. Slimer had yet to emerge from the remains of the firehouse, and the containment unit remained intact. All the former Ghostbusters attended, no matter how far they had to travel. Kylie pushed her move to Seattle a month ahead so that she could attend. She wore a black baseball hat pulled down over her eyes, Eduardo wanted to hug her and make her stop crying, but he knew if he did, he would cry too, and to him, that was unacceptable. Garrett stared at the scythe whole time, only lowering his eyes once, when those time-tested words were uttered. "Ashes to ashes, dust to dust…" No doubt, he was thinking of another funeral that had been not to long ago.

Roland stood off to one side with his wife, his baby daughter in his arms. As the ceremony ended, the baby started to cry, as if mourning the man she would never know.

The older three Ghostbusters stood side by side behind Janine's chair. Two of the men had placed one hand on her shoulders, as if she were a crutch to hold them up. The to-recent bride, now a widow, wore a veil to cover her face, although all attending could tell she was trying to control her tears by the shudders that went through her body every few minutes. The dark hared man in the middle didn't move a muscle during the entire ceremony, save to wipe a single tear from his cheek as the coffin was lowered into the ground.


End file.
